A majority of French people are "worried" by President Emmanuel Macron’s actions and weary of his monarchical style of leadership, a poll published on Wednesday showed. Despite his tepid popularity ratings, the young centrist remains more popular than his socialist predecessor, another poll showed.
The poll, conducted by Elabe for the French news channel BFM TV, found that 59 per cent of French people are “worried” about the young centrist’s actions as president, up five percentage points from a previous Elabe survey published in January.

Eighty per cent of respondents described him as “authoritarian,” reinforcing opposition claims that Mr Macron’s “Jupiterian” governing style – making only rare pronouncements, like the Roman god of gods – has angered and frustrated French voters.
And while 54 per cent of those polled said they were “dissatisfied” with Mr Macron’s performance, only 14 per cent said they were “satisfied”.
Although 72 per cent of those interviewed described Mr Macron as “dynamic,” only 53 per cent said he was “capable of reforming” France, down seven points from January. However, only 28 per cent said he was “capable of uniting the French,” down a staggering 16 points.
A recent scandal involving a top Elysée bodyguard has also taken its toll on the young leader: only 42 per cent described him as “honest,” down seven points in seven months.
Mr Macron’s former bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, was charged with gang violence last month after a video emerged of him assaulting two young protesters in May while off duty and wearing a riot helmet and police tags.
Mr Macron came under fire for firing his top security aide only after the video was revealed by the press, undermining his election promise of building an “exemplary Republic”.

The so-called “Benalla affair” has also raised questions about his highly-centralised leadership style, and could yet undermine the next reform push.
Financing savings to slash the budget deficit, tackling the strained pension and public healthcare systems and reforming the constitution are all up next on Mr Macron’s agenda.
But despite his tepid ratings, the ambitious centrist is still considered the lesser of two evils in a politically divided France.
According to an Ifop poll for the French daily Le Figaro also released on Wednesday, only 17 per cent of voters want former socialist leader François Hollande to stand for re-election in 2022.